[Abstract] (Abstract available at http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:952-10-2986-2 ). Complete article available as a pdf download (5.7 MB). A summary of this research, courtesy of SUHUPO ry, is also available in Cleft Connect, the Newsletter of the European Network of Cleft Support Groups.
Ismo-Olav Kjäldman, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, Department of Applied Sciences of Education, University Central Hospital of Helsinki. Date: June 2006.
The goal of this research was to survey the self-concept and school achievement of pupils with cleft lip, cleft palate or both from juvenile age to adolescence. Longitudinal researches of self-concept and school achievement among pupils with cleft lip, cleft palate or both are uncommon. This research was the first longitudinal research ever conducted in Finland among this population. This research can be considered a special educational study because of the target group involved.
Self-concept consists of the person’s entire personality. Personality is biological and deterministic. Self-concept includes concepts, attitudes, and feelings that the person has about their qualities, abilities, and relations to the environment. The individual associates experiences with earlier observations through social interaction, developing consciousness of their existence and actions.
The target group in this study consisted of Finnish children with clefts, comprised of four different age groups. The questionnaire was sent to all subjects (N1 = 419) both times. A total of 74% of children returned the questionnaire in 1988 (N2 = 305), 48% in 1993 (N3 = 203), and 42% returned it both times (N4 = 175). These 175 children formed the research subjects. The survey was conducted in 1988 and again in 1993. In 1988, pupils were 9–12 years old; in 1993, 14–17 years old. Data were collected using a questionnaire, including a personality inventory test developed for Finnish students by professor Maija-Liisa Rauste-von Wright.
Quantitative analysis methods examined the structure of self-concept and school achievement. Observed structures were analyzed in relation to disorder, gender, and maturation. Results indicate that structures of self-concept and school achievement are stable. Basic self-concept elements are formed at an early age. School achievement is stable, but its structure changes over time. Gender has statistical significance for self-concept and school achievement, while the experienced disorder does not. Results support previous Finnish research on self-concept.